new echota (11. 222)

Signed on this day in 1835 in the American state of Georgia in the tribal capital, negotiated between a presidential administration favourable of Indian removal—the coerced expulsion had been in the works since the 1820s but John Quincy Adams was a strong proponent of tribal sovereignty—and a minoritarian faction of the Cherokee people, without the involvement or consent of the principal chief nor the national council, the treaty’s terms provided a framework for the annexation of all Indian lands east of the Mississippi watershed and relocate tens of thousands to territories further west, displacing other indigenous populations. Ratified the following March, the treaty became the enforcement and authorisation for the Trail of Tears, the assenting party hoped to secure the best possible terms for their removal after Georgia lawmakers had abolished independent governance of Cherokee lands and severely curtailed civil rights, including due-process, arguably and possibly correctly assumed that it would be taken from them regardless.

7x7 (11. 221)

pivot point: this year and the next will be judged as humanity’s failure to tackle the climate crisis  

fact check: a selection of debunked fake news from the past year  

sears & roebuck: through to 1971, a US department commissioned Vincent Price to assemble a collection of fine art to be sold in stores  

chronophoto: a challenge similar to GeoGuessr except one has to date an image on the map 

 🍾: the natural wonder material returning to the Moon and beyond 

jealousy list: articles that Bloomberg contributors wish they had scooped—see previously  

1%: the world population will stand at eight billion on the new year

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit

two years ago: 2021 in review

three years ago: 2020 in review, Brexit on tech plus cleaning up space junk

four years ago: the legacy of Thomas Beckett, nanotechology, a visit to a bunker museum plus flat-earther and other science denialism

five years ago: the Fifth Day of Christmas,  long-lived trees, dinosaurs of the year plus the competition to host Amazon’s second headquarters

a stone’s throw from the precipice paused (11. 220)

We had background music on for long enough for this intriguing and clever number from Andrew Bird to pop up on the playlist a few times, bundled along side other indy-rock classics and The Magnetic Fields. The song from the 2017 album My Finest Work Yet sounded familiar but hadn’t been overly-exposed because of the seemingly digital-only platform. Named for the Greek king punished by Zeus for trying to cheat death (and also for being a bad host), “Sisyphus” is about the consequences of letting one’s rock roll—or embracing one’s fate to overcome the task. “I’d rather fail like a mortal than flail like a god on a lighting rod; history forgets the moderates.”

synchronoptica

one year ago: the end of the draft in the US (1972)

two years ago: A Carol for Another Christmas plus the Feast of Abel

three years ago: Childermass, a Roman snack-bar, specialised geographical knowledge, zodiacal music plus AI Hallmark movies

four years ago: Kanji Character of the Year,  Wikipedia stats plus lost-and-found

five years ago: Trump visiting troops in Iraq, a very slow movie player plus more kanji of the year

la, a note to follow so (11. 219)

Via the always engrossing Language Hat, we discover that the song that the governess Maria uses to teach the children solfège in The Sound of Music has of course been translated into a number of languages, which does not strike one as the same solmisation that English audiences are accustomed to but preserves the tune and structure of the perhaps fits better to non-Western scales than we can appreciate. Also covering Arabic language renditions (adapted indirectly through manga), the Japanese version approximates the lyrics thus: Do is for “doughnut” ドはドーナツのド / Re is for “lemon” レはレモンのレ / Mi is for “everyone” ミはみんなのミ (or in French, Mi, c'est la moitié d'un tout—Mi, it’s half of a whole) / Fa is for “fight” / So is blue sky ソは青い空 / Ra is for “trumpet” ラはラッパのラ / Si is “happiness” シは幸せよ (or in Italian, Si: se non ti dico no—Yes: if I don’t tell you no) / So let us sing! さぁ歌いましょう. One wonders what is meant by mnemonics and homophony to begin with.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting 

two years ago: TIME magazine’s Machine of the Year (1982) plus more links to enjoy

three years ago: your daily demon: Gemory, the Roman numeral four, the General Knowledge Paper of King’s College plus the interrobang

four years ago: 2019 in review, more links to revisit plus Love Roller-Coaster

five years ago: Breakfast in America, artist Martha Boto, Trump visits Baghdad, a domestic double-agent plus an AI names fireworks

9x9 (11. 218)

inukshuk: CGP Grey grades the flags of the Canadian provinces—see previously  

omnibus: a compilation of the best books of the year 

52 things: Kottke shares some inspired, superlative gleanings from the past twelve months 

black smokers: hydrothermal vents evolved to prey on benthic Santas  

editors’ picks: some of NPR’s favourite, possibly overlooked stories of the year  

in a big country, dreams stay with you: assessing the size of YouTube—via Waxy  

there are two kinds of bubbles: speculation on the speculative nature of artificial intelligence from Cory Doctorow  

font foundry: the year in typography  

first nations: the contentious, selective display of tribal flags at the Oklahoma state capitol

resume your seat, little sister—i want you to stay fresh and pretty—for gentlemen callers (11. 217)

Premiering in Chicago on this day in 1944, Tennessee Williams’ (previously) first critically successful work propelled the playwright to stardom from relative obscurity. The memory play which includes strong autobiographical elements—excusing the unreliable narrator—recalls the trials of the Wingfield family, an absent and abusive father, a faded southern belle of a mother, a long-suffering son that supports them in his St Louis apartment with a dull job at a shoe warehouse and his older sister, a painfully shy individual with a slight disfigurement from a childhood illness and retreats into her own world of fragile figurines. With Tennessee Williams popping up frequently, I am realising that a lot of what I used to think about mental health and its aberrations was informed by such histrionics and wonder if anyone else was similarly influenced.  Despite its long runs and revival and many radio and television adaptations, it was only made into a film twice—once in 1950, with Jane Wyman and Kirk Douglas, and then again in 1987, directed by Paul Newman and starring Karen Allen, Joanne Woodward, James Naughton and John Malkovich.

cut the flowers (11. 216)

Never failing to far exceed expectations and always delivers, DJ Earworm (see previously) releases his annual United States of Pop mashup—which is more of an exercise in triangulation as a third, hybrid song and lyrics emerges from each combination from the catalogue of the top twenty-five most popular hits of the past twelve months.  The Taylor Swift compositions are especially enjoyable but do give the whole album a listen and seek out the 2009 edition—you won’t be disappointed.

synchronoptica

one year ago: another MST3K classic,  AI does weird Christmas cards, a gig-worker’s Christmas Carol plus Greek Christmas goblins

two years ago: the Feast of the Holy Family,  a hit from Fine Young Cannibals plus 2021 in photos

three years ago: The Exorcist (1973), assorted links to revisit, psychogeography plus Boxing Day

five years ago: a portrait of a young blogger plus more links to enjoy

sit down and shut-up, will ya? try not to live up to all of my expectations (11. 215)

Garnering multiple awards and accolades and considered among the best screenplays ever written, the George Roy Hill directed caper—having earlier used the same principals in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, premiered on Christmas day in 1973, the Robert Redford and Paul Newman vehicle centres around a complicated plan by two grifters (inspired by a duo actual confidence tricksters, Charlie and Fred Gondorff), nearly foiled by the FBI, to con an organised crime boss out of a half-a-million dollars. Set in the mid-1930s, it features old-fashioned interstitial title cards and the music of Scott Joplin, causing a resurgence in the interest in ragtime.